Cargo tie-down fitting



x0d. 16 1945. R, BLAGDEN 2,386,836

CARGO TIE-DOWN FITTING Filed March 19, 1945 /mv wur1 20 19 \1o 11 14 i Patented Oct. 16, 1945 CARGO TIE-DOWN FITTING Rudolph B lagden, Kenmore, NJ-Y., assignor to Curtiss-Wright Delaware Corporation, a corporation of Application March 19, 1943, Serial No. 479,753

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improved fitting for the fastening or lashing of cargo and freight and more particularly t a combined hook and cleat tie-down flttingfor lashing cargo and freight in cargo aircraft, ships. railroad cars and other vehicles.

Numerous devices and methods have heretofore been suggested and used for fastening or securing cargo and freight to the deck or floor-of ships and vehicles. Few of these devices which have proven safe and secure in other means of transportation have, however, been adapted for use in aircraft where considerations of weight, speed of attachment, and security against loosening and damage due to vibration and change of attitude and position of the aircraft are of vital importance.

The present invention comprises essentially a tie-down fitting particularly adapted for use in lashing down cargo or other heavy items in aircraft and other vehicles. The present fitting comprises essentially a single device having a cable or rope terminal eye. an oppositely disposed hook for engaging an eye fixed to the floor, deck or other support, and a cleat disposed adjacent and intermediate the hook and eye. The arrangement is such that a strand of rope, having a terminal spliced or fixed to the eye of the tting, can be extended around a projected portion of the item to be lashed and returned to the cleat where it is adjustably tied, developing suitable tension against the eye and the engaging hook to thereby lash the cargo to the fixed point upon the floor or deck.

It is accordingly a primary object of the pres ent invention to provide a tie-down fitting comprising in a single device, a hook, an eye and a pair of extended arms forming a cleat. It is a further object to provide in such a combination fitting, a unique arrangement of the hook, eye and cleat portions such that when a rope or cable is fastened to the eye portion it forms therewith a means for simply, safely and rapidly securing the cargo or freight item to a fixed part of the vehicle in which the cargo is being transported.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a hook and cleat tie-down fitting for lashing down heavy items to prevent any shifting or movement thereof and to make the operation as simple and as fast as possible, both in the fastening and unfastening procedures and still to prevent the least amount of slippage without the use of difllcult knots or other auxiliary fastening devices. It is a further object to provide such a combined fitting to which a strand of rope or cable is permanently attached to an eye portion such that it is readily available for use in the transporting vehicle.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention, both with respect to its general arrangement, detailed form and use, will become apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the present specification and the attached drawing forming a. part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view illustrating a, preferred form of the present fitting in fastening a circular or cylindrical object to the floor or other support Fig. 2 is a part-sectional plan view of the cleat fitting taken along the lines II-lI of Fig. 4;

Flg.'3 is a vertical section taken along the lines III-III of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a detailed side view of the preferred form of the cleat tting;

Fig. 5 is a. vertical section taken along the lines V-V of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional lines VI-VI of Fig. 4. Referring now to Fig. 1, there is shown a preferred method of tying down a circular or cylindrical object dd which may be the wheel bb of a vehicle desired to be anchored or fastened with respect to the floor cc of a cargo aircraft, or other vehicle. Two hook, eye and cleat tie-down fittings I Il are oppositely disposed with respect to the projecting hub or shaft aa which may either be a part of the wheel bb of the vehicle or a rigid attachment thereto. The upper portion IGA of the tie-down fitting l0 is provided with a pair of arms I4 extending in opposite directions in the same general plane as the remainder of the fitting, to form a rope or cable cleat portion. These arms I4 are inclined upwardly and outwardly in an arc of relatively long radius from the central axis A-A of the fitting.

The arms I4 are of rounded cross-section, the under surface portions I6 being substantiallysemlcircular and the outer portion I 0A being somewhat more flat. The oppositely extending arms forming the cleat portions I4 each form with the opposed portion Ille and Illf of the main cleat body gradually taperingrecesses terminating in rounded or semi-circular throat portions Il. A strand of rope, cable or the like ee is spliced or fixed to an eye portion l2 to become a permanent assembly with the tie-down fitting, the rope being of a suitable length for the expected usage such that its free end may be returned from its embracing position with the cargo item with sufplan viewtaken along the cient remaining length to permit its being tied to the cleat portions Il of the fitting. The free end of the rope ce is passed around the cleat portions and through the recesses I1 to form a half-hitch, or other suitable securing method or knot. The floor or deck cc is preferably provided with an eye fitting Il having a suitably flanged portion which is securely attached to the floor. Similarly, the procedure of securing the cleat fitting l tol an oppositely disposed eye fitting ff, secured to the floor cc, or other support, is carried out with the rope ee attached to the eye I2 by extending the same around projecting portion aa of item bb to be lashed, and thence returned to the cleat fitting I0 to be suitably tied or secured by creating the tension necessary to securely lash the object from the two opposite points.

Referring to Figs. 2 to 6, inclusive, there is indicated on a much larger scale the hook and eye tiedown fitting Il. In Fig. 4 there is shown a side elevation of the cleat iitting III with an upper flattened portion IIA forming the cleat Il, a centrai throat portion IDB, and a lower body portion I IC, comprising a rope terminal eye I2 and an oppositely disposed hook II, adapted for engagement with an eye fitting 17 secured to a floor cc, or other support. This hook II of the cleat fitting Il is a rounded section which gradually tapers from the hook terminal IIA upwardly in an arcuate direction,A forming the hook I I and merging in a larger section, with the rounded lower edge IIID and the rounded upper edge IDF of the body portion IBC. 'I'he rounded lower e'dge IIID continues downwardly to the left toward the oppositely disposed eye I2 tapering to a slightly smaller cross-sectional dimension, as shown in Fig. 6, and radially turning upwardly in a semicircular direction to merge with the rounded upper edge IUE to form the eye I2. The upper rounded edge IIIE at the eye l2 and the upper rounded edge IDF at the oppositely disposed hook II extend oppositeLv in alinement toward the central throat portion IDB of the cleat fitting; these edges then extend upwardly in a semi-circle at the throat and merge with the oppositely disposed extended arms I4 which comprise the cleat portion of the tting.

These arms Il are inclined upwardly and oppositely in an arc from the central axis A-A at the upper flattened portion IIIA of the cleat fitting III. The under surfaces I8 of the arms Il are inclined downwardly and inwardly toward the throat portion IB and in cooperation with the semi-circular merging connections to' rounded edges IDE and opposite rounded edges IIIF form tapering recesses II completing the cleat in which the rope ee can be wound and adjustably fastened. Intermediate the hook I I and the eye I2 and proceeding upward to a semi-circular portion I8 through the central portion IIB of the cleat fitting III there is formed depressed panels I9 on each side of the light section or web 20, being also defined by the reverse curve 2| adjacent the eye I2 and 22 adjacent to the wider sections under the cleat portion.

Referring now to Fig. 2, there is shown a split plan view II-II at the left side of which the extended arm Il is shown to taper horizontally to a smaller dimension at its rounded terminal.v At the right side of the plan there is shown the upper rounded edge IIF, of the lower jaw of the cleat throat, which also tapers to a smaller dimension at the hook end beyond the bottom portion IIC of the cleat fitting. In Fig. 3 the vertical section III-III shows the widest dimension of the assaese 'r-fiange 23 at the vertical central axis A-A along the upper portion IIA, tapering gradually downwardly to the narrower more bulbous portion 24 at the bottom edge IID of the cleat fitting.

Referring now to Fig. 5, in which there is shown a vertical cross-section taken through the center of the hook portion I I and the tip ofthe adjacent cleat arm I l, it will be noted that the cross section of the hook adjacent its tip portion IIA is substantially circular; and the section where the hook merges with the body portion IIC is somewhat bluntly wedge-shaped having its greater width merging with the lower edge IID and having its lesser width merging into the flat lower jaw edge IIIF of the cleat throat. This section as it cuts through the terminal portion of the cleat arm I4 reveals that the upper portion IIA is but slightly rounded, being an arc of a relatively long radius to permit its merging with the flat portion at 23 and its lower surface is substantially semi-circular to permit its following the semi-circular curvature of the lower surface I I into the rounded throat portion at I'I.

'I'he novel form and cross-sectional shape of the present cleat fitting has contributed materially to its high strength-to-weight ratio and its satisfactory use under difilcult service conditions. The fitting may be cast, preferably of steel GII or e. Isteel alloy such as chrome-nickel-moiybdenum combinations but may also be made as a forging or by other suitable processes depending upon the use for which it is intended. It will be noted that for a relatively light fitting those surfaces about which the rope or cable are likely'to be lashed and drawn are curved to relatively large radii. the horizontal cross-section through the throat of the cleat taking the form of a dumb-bell shape, as may beciearly seen in Fig. 2, about which the rope may be lashed in a half-hitch or figure 8 pattern. Similarly, it will be noted that the vertical cross-section taken along the lines III-III, as shown in Fig. 3, reveals a T-shaped cross-section having an upper flanged portion at 23, a relatively deep but thin web portion 20 and a bulbous stiifening portion 24 which gives the fitting a relatively high resistance to bending across -its central portion. 'I'he latter bulbous portion also assists the web 20 in transmitting the high tensile forces exerted between the hook I I and the eye I2.

In general appearance it will be noted that looking downwardly upon the cleat arms the fitting has a flattened lozenge or diamond shape; when viewed from either end it is substantially wedge-shaped with its narrower edge pointing downwardly toward the hook and eye portions, and the general thickness through its lower body portion between the hook and eye terminals is substantially planar and of the same thickness with a relatively slight taper from the hook to the eye portion, and with a somewhat greater taper downwardly from the cleat to the latter portions.

Other forms of the present invention both with respect to its general arrangement and the details of its respective parts which may become apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the present disclosure are intended to come within the scope of the present invention as more spe assenso having oppositeiy extending arms spatially terminating adjacent said eye and hook portions, the said hook opening facing toward the said central throat portion and accessible from the side of the tting opposite the said cleat, the arrangement of said attachment portions being auch that a line extending along the said side of the iitting converges with a line extending through the arms of said cleat when projected in the direction of said open hook terminal, each of the cross sections taken through said body normal to said cleat and along the lines connecting the said hook and eye portions being ci an Ibearn cross section to resist bending developed in said tting as a result of loads applied at said attachment portions and a rope-like element having a terminal permanently attached to the said eye portion of said tting, a further portion of said rope-like element in engagement with a cargo item and a further portion ofk said rope-like element in the region or its 20 opposite terminal adapted for detachable fastening to the said cleat portion oi' said ntting.

2. A cargo tie-down assembly for aircraft for detachabiy securing a cargo item disposed between spaced apart anchoring devices in an aircraft floor comprising a pair of tie-down sets each consisting of a unitary tie-down iitting,` said f1tting having a hook terminal ensageable with one oi' said anchoring devices, said tting having integral eye and cleat portions, and a exible elongated securing element having one oiitseterminais permanently attached to the said eye portion of said fitting whereby each said tie-down set is adapted upon engagement of the said hook portion of its fitting with one o! said anchoring devices to have its flexible securing element encompassingly engage a portion of said cargo item and to have the return portion oi said securing element releasably attached to the said cleat portion oi said tting for the quickly detachable securement of said cargo' item to said anchoring devices and the door of said aircraft. 

